The End
by Korean Pearl
Summary: Maya's last words - and a strange, almost-forgotten meeting.


**The End**

My name is Maya Lancing Hesser.

Tell anyone in the universe my name and they will recognize it. I am the seventh Animorph, the first War-Princess of the Nadar, the reigning Queen of Mayaneria, eternal Empress of Somolonania and the living Andalaki form of the Goddess of Peace. I am the first to hold these titles, and will be the only one to ever hold them.

I am also about to die.

I've been this close to death before, and in fact I have danced intimately with death many, many times in my long life. The first time was when I was a three-year-old Elemaki child, when the fires set by the Andalite soldiers swept through the plains, taking my mother but just sparing me and my brother for the moment. Granted, maybe I hadn't been so willing that time to stand and look at death in the face, but I have slowly learned how to lift my trembling face and gaze at that eternal expanse called the Sea of Stars.

The second time was when I almost crash-landed into Earth after being shoved into an escape pod by Andalite soldiers who were trying to hide evidence of my existence. As an illegal slave I was not supposed to have gone with them, but my fear was still rampant and I had desperately wanted to escape from the Andalite Home World. The game between the Ellimist and Crayak saved me then, and ever since then, it had been _my_ choice to flirt with death and danger.

I had lived a thousand lives and my memories are like water in a deep well, right there for the taking, but so far down that the only bucket I have, small and full of holes like a sieve, cannot pull but a little water – little memories – out.

So perhaps I can be forgiven that when the air around my bed shimmered, and my oldest Chee friend Jenny did not materialize from a hologram but instead a scared-looking Elemaki face peeked out, I honestly did not know who she was.

An Elemaki face, and then the blue-furred torso and four cloven legs and a half-curved tail blade and she stood before me, her main eyes wide, her terror unhidden. I stared, and then saw that her stalk eyes had been burnt to stubs but still I did not recognize her for who she was, and instead, asked like a foolish teenage Earthling girlchild, "Hi, um, who are you?"

A violent tremor went through her body, and then she responded in thought-speech, quickly, as if afraid of punishment, (You make sounds like a kafit bird with that hole in your face, yet I can understand you.)

There was a faint trace of a smile on my lips when she said those words, but obviously this Elemaki girl wouldn't recognize it. Before I could reply, however, she spoke again, hastily once more. (I'm sorry, I mean, my name is Mayanamar-Semitur-Aventa.)

She was me.

I stood still as over a century and a half of remembrances washed over me, as I raced backwards in time to find that one single memory that I had buried underneath years and years of peace and then under harsher years of war and survival, and then _I remembered._

I remembered the strange being that the Ellimist had told me was human. I remembered being terrified by this alien that only stood on two legs and made mouth-sounds.

And so, propelled by memory and then a sudden fear at changing history by saying the wrong thing, I too found myself speaking rapidly. "Greetings, Mayanamar. My name is Maya Lancing Hesser. I am a human, or am one now. I used to be…"

I stopped, standing at the edge of that well, sieve-like bucket in hand. What had I been told? What had I told myself? What did I say to the past that was me?

(What?)

I flung the bucket aside and leaned into the well, reaching out with both hands to scoop up the memories. I had to do this right, I had to, and to my surprise I found that my hands were shaking. I glanced at them, with just a little curiosity (I still was a Nadar, after all) and then I remembered enough to morph, to reach into my DNA and find the kafit bird that was still there even after all those years.

My bones began creaking and I winced, thinking, I'm too old for this, but I continued to hold the image of that bird in my mind and slowly, the feather patterns set in, and then the feathers themselves, and I was kafit bird once more. The demorphing was swifter, as I held the image of my now more than familiar human self in my mind, except with one difference – a blue-green ring on my finger.

When I was human, I carefully pulled off that ring, and then walked forward to give it to her, telling as I did so, "This is for you."

She paid no attention to the ring, and instead looked at me with an expression that could almost be awe. (Don't you fall over with only two legs?)

I smiled, remembering this moment, and then I caught hold of her – my – hand and slipped the ring onto her smallest finger. She pulled her hand away to look at it, and then looked up at me. (What is it?)

"It's a ring. A… gift. Well, okay." I mentally sighed, and then reminded myself that there was no real way to mess up explaining morphing, before asking, "You know how I just turned into a kafit bird?"

(Yes,) came the response, and I could just catch the hint of wonder that came through her thought-voice.

"This ring will give you that power to do that. To morph. And more. See, when you morph, you can only stay in that body for two hours."

(What is hours?)

I grinned in spite of myself, and then continued, "You have an internal clock. That will tell you how long to stay in morph. However, with this ring, you can stay in morph as long as you like. Only don't go past the limit unless you have to, because the more you do so, the harder it is to get back to your original self. Also, once you morph with it, you can't morph without it."

She looked up at me again. (How do you morph?)

Oh, yes, that would be important to know, wouldn't it. "You concentrate on the animal you want to morph into while touching it. That is called acquiring. Then you take your hand away and concentrate on it by yourself. To get back to your own body you think about your body. Oh, yeah, and one more thing. Give me your tail."

Mayanamar gave me her tail with a puzzled look in her eye. I grasped it and gently nicked the finger that held the ring. A drop of blood slid down her finger and touched the ring, which glowed red, the color of human blood, even though her blood was not red. I released both her tail and her hand, and then stepped back.

"Now, no one can use the ring except you. Don't lose it. And after you try it, hide it in your kafit bird morph. Just concentrate on your body without the ring and it will work. Creator's blessing," I said, ending automatically with the traditional Mayanite farewell.

(Thank you,) and there was a softness in her tone that I had forgotten had been a part of me. Closing my eyes, I told her, "Go now," unable to bear the thought of what she was about to go through, unable to stand there and know how that softness would be torn from her and replaced with utter callousness, and that it would take years before she – I – would learn any semblance of gentleness once more.

(How?)

"Just step backward. The time portal will carry you back."

She stepped back obediently, and my heart froze at the sight of her, about to be condemned but with no knowledge of it. How could I send her in this way? How could I not warn her? Try as I might I couldn't remember if I had been told anything after this point, but no matter what the cost, I couldn't let myself go like this.

"Wait!" I cried.

She looked up, startled.

"Don't ever give up. No matter what happens. Don't you ever give up."

(Alright.)

"I'm serious, don't ever give up. And - "

The air around her started to shimmer.

"Tell Prince Jake we won," I shouted just as she disappeared.

As the last trace of her faded away, I felt my life-force draining from me, almost as if her disappearance and the end of my life were linked. And then I think I smiled, because I realized, with the simplicity that I had had as a child – my life's purpose has been fulfilled.

Stumbling, I pulled my way to my bed and drew the covers up around me, remembering. Mayanamar had broken the dam that held my former life back and now I lived in the past once again, the words and actions of those who were now dead flooding my memory with honor and grace.

Strangely, though, it wasn't my children that I thought of, or my husband, or even my War Council, but the Animorphs. Of Rachel, who had died first, in the Blade Ship, and how her death had started a series of chain reactions that had led, in the end, to my freedom and my position as War-Princess of the Nadar. Aximilli had been next, killed in battle in a skirmish near the border of Andalite space, protecting his Home World and his People to the end.

Cassie and Jake, Marco, Tobias and I, slowly grew older, and one by one their life-forces burned out, and then it was only Tobias and I, and then only me, and now, it's my turn.

I'm ready.

I've lived a long, full life, and it's been slowing down, ticking slower and slower until it is bound to stop.

I remember when I used to say that a Nadar lived to fight and fought to die. I can't help but laugh at that now, for my life has been anything but that. I told Jeremy once (he was so bitter at life then) that a true Nadar lived to love and fought to protect that love. He crossed the Sea of Stars after a life full of love, many years later, and I know Alexa will never forget him, and that is what every Nadar secretly longs for. To never be forgotten. To always be loved.

I can feel my life force slipping away, washing out with the blue-gold tide. It is being called by Xelaman's, by Eun-hee's, by Anna's, by my brother's, by my mother's, called even more strongly than the Somolonanians are called to tend their dead. The Sea of Stars opens up before me, the Great Nadar, as I am known, who will die warm in her bed, leaving a legacy of such peace, joy and love that has never been known by a Nadar before.

_I am a Nadar, the servant of the Creator.  
I fight for the freedom of all Peoples.  
I live to love, and I fight to let love.  
I am a Nadar, protector of all life._

--

Dear Readers,

I'm sitting here, realizing that _wow, I'm done, I'm done, I'm done, _and although a part of me couldn't be happier, I also know already that I will miss Maya, I will miss Somolonania, and I might as well say it, I'm going to miss Animorphs fanfiction. I updated my first story here on this site exactly four years ago to this day, and ever since then, Elemaki and Nadar, Yeerks and Andalaki, Kyan and Biolex – they have been a part of my daydreaming, my conversations, filtered into virtually every aspect of my life.

And you my reviewers – I am so grateful for all the gifts you have given me over all these years and for all the encouragement and advice and constructive criticism I have received. To all of you who came on more recently, Lonnagriffin, Chinmayi, Aximilli2, Sofia666, and to those of you who stayed on from before, Voodooqueen126 and Toby Hamee and more.

I want to give a few thank-you's though, to people who although they've left the Animorph fanfiction community, they still were an integral part of my writing and without them I wouldn't be where I am now. Kaz456, always a pleasure to get your reviews, in RL now too! And Wraithlord42, to you, and DH, to everything the both of you have done for me.

However, I would like to especially thank Anonymous-cat, and my sister. Your roles only strengthened since the time I thanked you last at the end of my other series, and it was because of you two that I was able to continue going, able to keep up everything until I finally brought this series to an end. A-cat, it got to the point that I wouldn't update until I had a review from you and I don't know if I can express how much your friendship and constant support has meant to me. You are one of the few people I will maintain contact with even after leaving fanfic, and one of the few people I will still send my work to when I move into my original work.

As for my sister, I won't ever forget how often I dragged you to my laptop to read yet another installment of my work, how I pestered you for advice and praise and would stop you from sleeping and would wake you up to read my work. You never showed anything but enthusiasm for my writing and I can't tell you how important you are to me, in every aspect of life, and how much I appreciate that you've encouraged me in my writing.

And so, with this last chapter I also give to you all a goodbye. I'm leaving fanfic world now, but I'll carry the memories and experiences that I gained from being here over to my work for the rest of my life. I'm going to start my original work now, and with any luck, hopefully you'll be able to read my work from something other than a computer screen.

But in the end, this is all about you, you readers and reviewers who kept me going. Thank you, everyone, and no matter what you do, no matter if I never hear from you again – never stop imagining.

KP


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